The In-between World
by IloveMerlinandArthur
Summary: Because Sora abused the Power or Waking to free his friends from the Sleeping Realm he became physically trapped in a half sleeping/half death world called "The In-Between World" as a punishment. To escape from the In-Between World, Sora must do what he does best, help others.


**Prologue: The End**

When the second Keyblade War was over, Sora went off to find Kairi and bring her back to the Destiny Islands, he succeeded, however it came at a great cost. Since he had abused the Power of Waking to find his friends and save them from being gone forever in the Sleeping Realms he was banished to a half Sleeping, half Death world called the In-Between World - everyone knows of this place, in some worlds it's called Limbo and in others it's called Purgatory. Some believe that the In-Between World is a state in which somebody is neglected or is simply left to oblivion, however most believe it is a place where souls remain until they have made amends, showed remorse for wrongdoings or come to terms with the fact that they have moved on from the Living Realm.

When Sora opened his eyes for the first time after being sucked into what felt like a wormhole, he saw to his astonishment that there seemed to be a bustling hub of a city surrounding him. People were going about their day to day lives, but something seemed to be amiss about this place and the people in it. He looked up at the sky and realised that it was sunset, the sun was descending below the horizon and the light of day seemed to be fading - marking the end of the day and the beginning of the night. The sunset here was so vivid and in that moment staring up at the sun as it was going down, Sora felt a striking clarity as the colors of the sky seemed to change from a light blue to darker hues of blue, shades of red, orange, violet and yellow. Sora's eyes widened a little when the truth of it hit him, like a punch to the gut. Was he actually dead? As in, can't go back kind of dead? A sinking feeling descended like the sun inside him and he felt horribly defeated and lost.

Sora was just about to shed a few tears of loss with the realisation that he would not be able to see his friends anymore, for those that he had worked so hard to protect. When a boy about his age glided down from the sky in a gust of icy wind and holding a long thin stick that had a curved end to it, landed next to where he was lying on the dirt road. The teenager threw Sora a crooked, mischievous smile. Sora noted that the boy wore a blue jumper with a hood that had flecks of ice sitting on the shoulders, brown tight fitted pants and no shoes. The boy had light blue eyes and white tousled hair; he appeared to have a laidback attitude as he leaned on the stick he held, while he continued to smile at Sora.

"Who are you? Where am I? Am I dead?" The questions just spilled out of Sora's mouth in a rush, when he stopped his face went tomato red in embarrassment, a nervous itch taking place inside his gut.

"Woah slow down a bit," The strange teenager replied, "My name is Jack Frost, I am a Guardian of Light, of fun actually," Jack as he was now known, paused for a brief moment, "You are in the In-Between World also known as Limbo or Purgatory, and no you are not dead, your just trapped here for now. Well that's what I've been told anyway."

"Oh thank goodness!" Sora exclaimed loudly, which happened to scare a couple of old ladies as they walked by, one muttering to the other about teenage hoodlums. "My name's Sora, but you probably already know that..." Sora trailed off frowning.

"That's right, the Man in the Moon told me all about you," Jack stated, grinning madly, "I'm not usually given jobs like this one, however, I am to be your guide down here. The other Guardians agreed that I'd be the best guy for it, that I'd be able to help you better."

Sora thought about what Jack said for a moment and then asked, "You are a Guardian of Light too? There are others?"

Jack's first reaction was to laugh hysterically, however he managed to keep most of it in, Sora was much to curious and reckless for his own good but he understood - he was the same. "Yeah, I'm a Guardian too, I wasn't always though. Way before any of this," Jack waved he arms about indicating to everything, "I lived in a town called Burgess about three hundred years ago, In fact i still sort of live there. I was a normal teenage boy that was mischievous, liked to have fun and play tricks on my friends and younger sister. Anyway one day my sister and i were out ice skating and we didn't realize that the ice was too thin, it started to crack so i managed to get my sister to safety before it broke and the cold water pulled me under." Jack sighed sadly as he helped Sora off the ground and they began to walk around the busy streets of the In-Between World.

"You're over three hundred years old!?" Sora exclaimed in shock and disbelief, "But you look like you're my age."

"I'm getting to that part, just be patient," Jack laughed lightly and then continued his story, "Saving my sister cost me my own life, however the Man in the Moon saw my selfless act of heroism and sacrifice and decided to shine his light and transform me into a Winter Spirit. So I Jackson Overland Frost became an immortal being who possesses power over ice and snow. When I was reborn the Man in the Moon only ever told me my name, nothing else. Then Pitch Black made an appearance, he's a villain in the world I come from, started creating his Nightmares and stomping out all the light's inside children's hearts. I was made a Guardian then, to protect the fun that children had."

"Wow, sound's important," Sora commented, looking at Jack impressed, "The Man in the Moon, is he like from Kingdom Hearts?"

"I suppose he could be...I don't think anyone's ever asked him," Jack replied with a quizzical expression gracing is features, "The Moon doesn't look like a heart in my world though, it just shines very brightly on occasion. You asked about the other Guardians, well there's Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny - he protects hope. Thoothiana, she's the Tooth Fairy and she protects memories. There's Sandman - he protects dreams and then there is North, he's my world's version of Santa Claus - he protects wonder."

"That's so cool." Sora replied smiling for the first time since he had arrived, "Gee it must be getting late, we've been talking for hours, surely the sun should have set by now?"

Jack gave Sora a small sad look and then replied, "The sun never sets here, and time doesn't exist. You are here as a punishment, to escape from the In-Between World, Sora you must do what you do best - help others. This is your sentence for breaking the law of the Sleeping Realms." Jack then gave Sora a stern look, which seemed so out of place on his carefree face.

"In order to help others that are trapped in the In-Between World, those who have died must be helped come to terms with their passing and their own inner darkness, so that they can find the peace they desperately long for." Sora nodded in understanding and Jack gave another small smile and said, "Some beings are trapped in this world like you are, only for vastly different reasons. They have not died and so they simply need to be released, however they too need to face their inner darkness and find the courage to be accepting of who they really are in order to be set free."


End file.
